Kylar walked slowly as he weaved his way through the crowded streets, dodging the precariously placed markets stalls and their screaming owners. The dry and dusty air caused a thin layer of perspiration to coat the face of buyers and sellers alike as they haggled, each trying to swear black and blue that they had the sadder life in the vain hope of changing the price. It was like a game to some people, with gold just a way to keep score; while to others it was a serious matter of getting enough food to feed the masses waiting at home. The victor walked away richer and happier, while those with lead tongues returned to their hovels with their meagre takings and heavy hearts.

Since Kylar was not here to buy he could enjoy the hustle and bustle of the bazaar without having to worry about outwitting some oily merchant. The flurry of bright colours constantly drew his emerald green eyes in different directions, and the exotic perfumes and spices was almost overwhelming his sense of smell. The whole scene just gave off a feeling of life and energy, just walking along the middle of the street invigorated the mercenary.

It also distracted him from his task at hand, he realised with frustration as he stopped walking and ran his hand through his hair. The guards that kept order in this bazaar would only stay bribed for another half hour, and if he didn’t complete his contract by then he would have to deal with them as well. He shuddered to think of how much it would cost to bribe those arrogant guards for even this long, but then his client did seem to be very determined in this endeavour.

It was an odd job too, or at least it would be consider odd from where Kylar used to live. He was new to this land, so perhaps this kind of thing happened often. Still, he wondered just why someone of that nature would be out in such an open area. Surely people would notice that… Kylar’s thoughts where cut short as he caught sight of his target weaving through the crowds at a swift pace.

He shook his head as he realised that even he couldn’t tell the girls true nature. She simply looked rather pale, like she was ill or had just been ill. Her pointed ears gave away her elfish nature, and the white robes that she wore looked rather drab compared to the colourful clothes of the locals. Still, she looked harmless enough, so Kylar figured that he should have this job easily finished within the time limits.

He immediately picked up the pace and started following the girl. His left hand moved to his side, pushing aside his brown cloak and revealing the worn hilt of a plain sword. He jostled it a little to ensure it was loose and ready to be drawn in a moment’s notice. His pace was faster than the girl’s, so it should only be a matter of time before he caught up, unless she hears his heavy footsteps first and turn around to confront him.

_________________Kylar, The Mercenary"Your mother was a hamster; and your Father smelt of Elderberries! Now, go away before I am forced to taunt you a second time!

Taking a daytime trip down to the bazaar turned out to be a very rewarding experience for the elf, even though it was done out of necessity and certainly far from what she'd consider enjoyable in any sense. It wasn't just the unpleasantness of continuously bumping into sweaty strangers that crowded places normally offer, nor was it the complicated harsh variety of scents that choked the air. While those things hardly helped, it was the market itself that was so difficult for Ellia to handle.

At its face, it was simply many people trying to get ahead of one another by getting more gold than they expect is fair, or by finding a discount when they were fine with paying in full. But as she watched, the cracks became apparent. Those who enjoyed a more luxurious life were easily leveraging their positions over their more desperate customers, emphasising how little they needed their coin and furthering their struggle to get by in the name of greed and self-interest.

Of course, that extended only to people who could manage to scrape enough together to purchase things in the first place. Dotting the area were those who were less fortunate still than those who could struggle. Despite that, many found themselves being happy and enjoying the energy of the messy place. It felt dirty that so many people chose to ignore issues that were so plainly visible, or were so unaffected by them that they could continue to enjoy themselves regardless. Ellia briefly toyed with the idea of donating her meagre supply of coin to the few that looked as though they could simply wither away, but she knew it'd be but a small bandage on a very big wound.

Indeed, it'd be much better to spend the gold on an effort to remove the problem than to continuously burn it on damage control, she reasoned. She found something in the bazaar that moment - direction. This would be the city she stayed in for the foreseeable future, but she'd need to fit in if she was to go unnoticed and unsuspected. She started looking around at those around her with interest, observing the local dress and customs, quickly noting the need for more colourful attire if she wanted to at least pretend to be a local.

She nabbed what seemed to be a suitable outfit as well as the bottle of perfume she came for in the first place, eager to make her way out of the busy bazaar in search of a place to call her own while she was in town. She hurried though the crowd to escape the sounds and noises, but tried to take care not to be too quick that she'd cause a scene by bumping into someone. Causing scenes didn't usually do much for fitting in. As luck would have it, that didn't seem to matter too much. While she scanned around herself looking for her path out of the market, her eyes caught the gaze of a young man that was quite obviously trying to catch up. Chances were a scene was upon her regardless of doing anything out of place, but running would probably alert more people than dealing with whatever issue this stranger had.

Probably some off-duty guard that got suspicious when I stopped at a market stall, then took off in a hurry with some goods in hand. So annoying. Can't just ask the seedy little merchant first, can you?

She turned around and stared at him, doing nothing to hide her irritation.

Kylar dodged past the few people who did not give way to the armed mercenary as he swiftly followed the girl. He watched her interact with a few market vendors and was surprised that none of them guessed her true nature, no matter how close they got to her. He started to pick up his pace in an attempt to either catch up or alert the girl to his presence, as he wanted to see just how she would react to being followed. Most people would start walking faster or look around for the mysteriously absent guards; however those with some fight in them would instantly turn around to confront him.

It didn’t take long for the girl to notice him after he picked up his pace and sure enough she immediately turned around to confront him. Her face caught him off guard; it still looked alive and had that strange exotic beauty that most high elves had, even if she looked pale and drawn. He had expected some sign of decay or rot, but instead found a face that he could easily imagine himself protecting, even if her expression was irritated. Still, no matter what she had been in life she would be inherently evil now in death and he was determined to fulfil this contract. He owed it to that funny little man who had such pain hidden beneath his dark green eyes.

Luckily she did not appear to be alarmed, so she obviously didn’t know Kylar’s purpose for following her. He casually dropped his left hand off the hilt of his sword and kept his expression blank as he walked directly up to the girl. As he came within range, he nodded once to show some form of greeting and throw her off guard before dropping his right shoulder and rushing forward to attempt a quick shoulder barge which could easily knock her off her feet. He hoped to end this quickly, as it was dishonest to give those he fought false hope. If they couldn’t hope to match his skill, something he doubted this slim little elf could do, then it was a cruelty to make them think that they had any hope of winning this fight.

Successful or not, Kylar took a few steps back and casually drew his sword and shield, ignoring the startled gasps or piercing screams from the bystanders around him. The crowd instantly went into panic mode, some silently bolting away in the blink of an eye while others literally threw their hands into the air and ran in circles screaming their lungs out. He stood his ground calmly; a single rock in the sea as the crowd gave this armed and grumpy looking stranger plenty of room. Unfortunately, the girl did not appear to be that threatening at first glance, so she would probably not get the same respect he did and might even get trampled if she found herself on the floor amidst this panic.

_________________Kylar, The Mercenary"Your mother was a hamster; and your Father smelt of Elderberries! Now, go away before I am forced to taunt you a second time!